1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for processing photosensitive materials. In particular, the present invention relates to a method for processing photosensitive materials for successively and automatically performing a series of development processing steps for photosensitive materials having different widthwise dimensions, and an apparatus for processing photosensitive materials to which the method for processing photosensitive materials is applicable.
2. Description of the Related Art
An apparatus for processing photosensitive materials for performing a series of processing steps such as development is used for photosensitive materials such as films and photographic paper, in which a lengthy photosensitive material is successively immersed in solutions for development, bleaching, fixation, washing, and stabilization in each of processing tanks by conveying it on a serial conveyance passage by roller conveyance or the like, and it is dried by conveyance through a drying section. Thus a series of processing steps is automatically performed. Such an apparatus for processing photosensitive materials is provided with guide racks for introducing the lengthy photosensitive material into each of the processing tanks.
In the conventional art, a guide rack as described above is known, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 1-205166 shown in FIG. 18.
This guide rack comprises a pair of side plates 12 provided with fastening portions 10 for fastening to both edges of a processing tank upon attachment of the rack to the processing tank, guide rollers 14, 16 rotatably spanned between the side plates 12 and provided at upper and lower positions respectively for guiding a lengthy photosensitive material 11 into the processing tank through a U-shaped conveyance passage, a pair of edge guides 18 for guiding both side edges of the lengthy photosensitive material 11 between the guide rollers 14, 16, and a guide width changing means 20 for changing a spacing distance between the edge guides 18 (guide width) in accordance with a widthwise dimension of the photosensitive material 11.
The guide width changing means 20 includes an edge guide width changing dial 22 provided on an upper end of the side plate 12, a scale unit 24 for indicating an edge guide width, a rotatable shaft 26 coupled to the dial 22, movement screw rods 32 rotatably spanned between the side plates 12 and coupled to the rotatable shaft 26 through bevel gears 28, 30, and female screw portions 36 provided in the edge guides 18 for engaging with male screw portions 34 of the movement screw rods 32. As for the male screw portion 34 of the movement screw rods 32 described above, those for the first side plate 12 have threads in a direction opposite to those for the second side plate 12. Therefore, when the dial 22 is rotated, and the movement screw rods 32 are rotated in one direction, the pair of edge guides 18 are separated from one another through the female screw portions 36. When they are rotated in the other direction, the pair of edge guides 18 approach one another. Thus this system makes it possible to set the spacing distance between the edge guides 18 or the guide width to be a desired value corresponding to the widthwise dimension of the photosensitive material 11.
When a lengthy photosensitive material 11 having a different widthwise dimension is subjected to development processing in a processing apparatus having the guide racks as described above, adjustment is performed after all of the photosensitive material 11 in processing in the processing apparatus are discharged from the conveyance passage of the processing apparatus. This adjustment is primarily performed so that the spacing distance between the edge guides 18 of all of the guide racks for regulating and guiding the widthwise direction of the photosensitive material 11 on the conveyance passage is reset to be a spacing distance corresponding to the widthwise dimension of the photosensitive material 11 to be processed thereafter. The processing for the photosensitive material 11 having the different widthwise dimension is started after completion of the adjustment.
However, such a conventional processing apparatus has a complicated structure of the guide width changing means provided for each of the guide racks. Thus the apparatus is expensive. In addition, it is impossible to alter the spacing distance between the edge guides during processing for the photosensitive material in the processing apparatus. Therefore, the widthwise dimension of the edge guides should be changed, and a photosensitive material having a different widthwise dimension should be set to the processing apparatus to start processing, after completion of processing for a photosensitive material having a predetermined widthwise dimension in the processing apparatus, and after discharge of the entire photosensitive material from the conveyance passage of the processing apparatus.
The processing for the photosensitive material is interrupted every time the spacing distance between the edge guides is changed as described above. Thus a problem arises in that the processing ability (the number of photosensitive materials processed per unit time) of the processing apparatus is deteriorated. Especially, when a plurality of photosensitive materials having different widthwise dimensions are alternately processed, the apparatus repeats steps of processing a photosensitive material, and then changing the spacing distance between the edge guides in accordance with a widthwise dimension of a photosensitive material to be subsequently processed. Thus the processing ability of the processing apparatus is greatly deteriorated.